by Anne Swardson | May 20, 2020 | Uncategorized
By Anne Swardson Paris is in what is called the “red zone.” That is, its parks cannot yet open for fear of sparking a return of the coronavirus. An unexpected by-product of these post-lockdown days of garden neglect is that the city is bursting out in uncontrolled... 
by Anne Swardson | May 11, 2020 | Uncategorized
By Anne Swardson Starting today, masks are required on French public transportation, part of the transition out of our 56-day coronavirus lockdown. Based on what I’ve seen recently, many Parisians have a case of wardrobe malfunction. “Judging by how they wear their... 
by Anne Swardson | May 6, 2020 | Uncategorized
By Anne Swardson The country that reluctantly accepted one of the strictest set of coronavirus lockdown rules in the Western world now is nervous about living without them. France begins phasing out its 49-day “confinement” Monday and details of the new regime have... 
by Anne Swardson | Apr 30, 2020 | Uncategorized
By Anne Swardson I came back to the apartment the other day and said very excitedly to my husband, “I got controlled! But it was OK, I had my attestation.” He knew exactly what I meant: I had gotten checked by the Paris cops and had the right form on my cell phone to... 
by Anne Swardson | Apr 27, 2020 | Uncategorized
By Anne Swardson In France, there are some rules that must be obeyed and others that can be ignored. The trick for non-natives is to figure out which is which. Owners of some of the small shops in my neighborhood, and elsewhere, must know something I don’t. Two weeks...